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British Children’s Book Making Science Magical Reaches #1 on Amazon in US and UK

Tuesday 2 September, 2025

A British children’s book that blends science and fantasy has climbed to #1 on Amazon in both the US and UK — being hailed as a bold new kind of children’s fiction, Ellie Ment and the Material Matter is inspiring thousands of young readers on both sides of the Atlantic. And its success has a purpose: published by not-for-profit The Clean Planet Foundation, every copy sold helps fund science and environmental projects in schools and communities, furthering the Foundation’s mission.


Released at the end of June 2025, the book has already been chosen over the summer and as start-of-year reading by clubs and schools for more than 1,000 pupils in Florida, Philadelphia, Arizona, Oklahoma, Indiana, Texas and Connecticut. Educators say it is proving a powerful way to spark curiosity in science whilst keeping children entertained.


Angee Costa, a former teacher, principal, and curriculum writer led the programme for 100 pupils at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Charlotte County, Florida:


“Ellie Ment and the Material Matter does something rare — it makes science exciting without ever feeling like a lesson. We started reading it together, but the children were racing ahead on their own. They weren’t just enjoying the adventure — they wanted to talk about the real science behind it. For an educator, that’s the dream: a book that makes kids desperate to learn more.”


And children in the UK are leading the charge too. Twelve-year-old Georgina Fox from London said: “I started looking up experiments after reading [this book] because I wanted to try them myself.”


Meanwhile, eleven-year-old Lucas Boghici from Buckinghamshire added: “Ellie Ment did feel like a Marvel movie, turning Science into the real magic, my little sister is already reading it too.”


Much of the book’s momentum has also been amplified by social media, where clips and recommendations have been shared on accounts with millions of combined followers. Viral school influencer Holly Hos (@thehos), whose TikTok account has 1.5 million followers, posted about the book and received over 10,000 likes and comments across her social feeds.


At its heart, the novel follows 11-year-old Ellie Ment, whose school is destroyed by a mysterious purple fire. Drawn into a world of hidden science, secret societies and impossible choices, she must decide whether science should solve environmental problems at any cost — or whether some compromises should never be made.


On Goodreads, the global reader platform, Ellie Ment and the Material Matter
holds an impressive 4.7-star rating, with readers calling it “funny, clever and unforgettable.” The novel has also reached the top spot in several key Amazon book categories, including Children’s Science Fiction and Children’s Action Adventure in both the UK and USA.


Kirkus Reviews, established in 1933 and widely regarded as the gold standard in book reviewing, praised the novel as:


“A quirky science adventure… handling the complexities of trying to save the world with nuance and care.”


The review carried Kirkus’ “Get It” recommendation — its highest accolade — placing the book among a select group judged to be essential reading.


Bertie Stephens, CEO of the Clean Planet Foundation, said the organisation turned to storytelling as another way to inspire children about the environment and science. “Seeing hundreds of children discover Ellie’s story each day has been extraordinary. What makes this achievement even more exciting is knowing that every book sold directly funds our work in schools and communities. The STEM book gives more young people the chance to see that science can be every bit as magical as fantasy.”


The book also carries a foreword by Stanley Johnson, father of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and a renowned environmentalist and author who has received awards from Greenpeace, WWF and the RSPB for his conservation work. In it, he describes the story as: “This book pulls off something quite remarkable. It makes science genuinely exciting, the problems facing our world accessible, and environmental responsibility fun. Not through lectures, but through story.”


That sense of purpose lies at the heart of the Clean Planet Foundation’s mission. Based in the UK, the Foundation is part of the Clean Planet Group and runs projects designed to engage children with environmental action and awareness — from creating educational comics and classroom lesson plans, to supporting biodiversity projects and microplastics research in the polar regions. Last year, the Foundation’s documentary on its tree-planting project with Scottish charity Trees for Life was awarded at the Cannes World Film Festival.


And this is just the beginning. Ellie Ment and the Material Matter is the first in a planned series, with further books being developed by the Foundation to keep building momentum in schools worldwide.


With thousands of copies now in readers’ hands across both the US and UK — and available from most bookshops — for the Clean Planet Foundation this is more than a publishing milestone: it is helping inspire a generation to see that science really is magic.



Distributed by Pressat